HM Payson & Co. Sells 2,000 Shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

HM Payson & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 25.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $537,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the first quarter valued at $8,506,000. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the first quarter valued at $857,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 94.4% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,158 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in Viper Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $1,955,000. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

VNOM stock opened at $52.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 7.06 and a quick ratio of 7.06. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.61 and a 1 year high of $53.25. The company has a market cap of $9.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 1.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $48.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.79.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $216.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.28 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 25.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on VNOM. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Viper Energy from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on Viper Energy from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Viper Energy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

Viper Energy Profile

Viper Energy, Inc owns and acquires mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin, North America. Viper Energy Partners GP LLC operates as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Viper Energy Partners LP and changed its name to Viper Energy, Inc in November 2023.